What is the problem the project is addressing?

The running cost of a school would include the provision of school uniforms, books, staff salaries, school transport, building repair, maintenance and teacher training and evaluation. Our students come from families where the average total household income is Rupees 5-6,000 (40p) per month. The means-tested fees we charge cover about 16% of our costs, the balance of 84% being met from donations.

How will this project solve the problem?

TCF produces its own in-house enhanced version of the state curriculum, as well as teaching-aids, books and student materials. English is introduced from Class I (age 5), far in advance of government curriculum requirements.

What is the potential long-term impact of this project?

TCF is actively supporting further education with 73% of TCF graduates joining college this year. TCF now has students in, or hoping to enrol in, engineering colleges, medical school, business management and chartered accountancy.

Dec202013

Update 2013

Shazia Syed

TCF-UK 2013

Being a leading organisation in the field of education in Pakistan, TCF continues to provide high quality education at low cost for communities in rural and urban slums across every province of Pakistan. In the context of the current international development agenda with education in Pakistan being a leading issue, TCF’s reach in the field cannot be overstated. At the end of 2013, TCF now educates over 126,000 underprivileged children across 910 primary and secondary school units. This is the largest private network of schools in Pakistan and next year the NGO will reach a landmark of 1,000.

One of TCF’s main aims is to have 50:50 gender equality amongst the children and at 46-47% female enrolment it is very close to its goal. One of the most inspiring stories of TCF’s work have been the achievements of TCF alumni, Anum Fatima. Growing up in a slum area of Karachi, the eldest of five siblings, she excelled in academic performance at a TCF school. Being the first in her family to continue education beyond matriculation, she went on to complete her degree and then her MBA.

Demonstrating a social mobility unheard of in Pakistan, Anum’s outstanding achievements earned her a scholarship to complete a summer programme at Harvard University. This opened the way to completing an internship at a US think tank and to a speaking opportuinty at the US State Department. Returning to Pakistan, she is now working on a micro-finance project for the impoverished area of Ismail Goth in Karachi, where she grew up. In an interview with a national newspaper she attributes her unusual success to TCF, saying that her life changed when she enrolled in their school.

Our work to empower women goes further still with our full female teaching faculty which is now 6,300 strong. Within this, in 2013 alone, TCF has recruited around 165 alumni teachers, described by the notable academic Dr. Marie Lall from the University of London as “the most important legacy that TCF leaves in a community where education was not previously available”. Furthermore, understanding the importance of working with the community, our Female Adult Literacy Programme, known as ‘Aagahi’ has allowed 19,446 women within the most deprived of communities to attain vital literacy and numerical skills, later in life.

The school is located in Saiful Goth, Karachi in Sindh, a province where more than two million children are currently not in primary school - the majority of these being girls. As Sindh is Pakistan’s second largest province and Karachi being one of the world’s largest cities, the development of education here can have an influential contribution to the country’s overall development.

Furthermore, with a lack of access to clean drinking water in Sindh being an increasing problem, it is significant that this school is part of TCF’s ‘water project’, providing safer, filtered, drinking water to the poorest communities.

(… He created the world just so every person May live in peace Every human being may Live in happiness….)

11-year-old Mubbashir Maroof writes poems on peace and happiness. He lives in one of the many urban slums sprawled in the industrial area of Karachi. This young poet is a brilliant student of your TCF Secondary School – KFC Pakistan Campus, Saifal Goth.

Mubbashir enjoys walking to his school every day; it is a 15 minute walk. Thousands of children like him, all over Pakistan, are widening their horizons and perspectives, encouraged by TCF to think critically and be responsible citizens.

The support that you provide for TCF ensures that young children like Mubbashir can have easy access to quality education.

Aug132012

Update 2012

Shazia Syed

The Citizens Foundation (TCF) is Pakistan’s leading education charity with a nationwide presence in 93 towns and cities across 51 districts in Pakistan, with 830 school units teaching over 115,000 underprivileged children regardless of ethnicity, gender, caste or religion. TCF schools are built in deprived areas, urban slums and poor rural villages where the need is most dire and where most children would otherwise not receive an education. The Citizens Foundation (UK) raises funds for the construction and on-going support of TCF schools, contributing approximately 12.5% of TCF’s total budget. Funds are raised from individuals, corporates, matched giving, Trusts and events.

TCF's achievements:

Our schools have a balanced gender ratio: close to 50% female students

TCF has created more than 8,800 jobs of which 5,800 are female faculty positions

TCF has gained certification from PCP (Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy). TCF is amongst the highest scoring organizations certified by PCP to date

We have raised public awareness about the dire illiteracy problem in Pakistan

Each year increasing numbers of our grade X students have achieved A+, A and B Grades in the external State Board Matriculation examinations. In the most recent academic year, 49% of students attained A+ and A Grades - 10% more than last year and well above the national average with some of our students ranking in the top 10 in these exams. A commendable result considering that TCF’s students come from some of Pakistan’s poorest communities.

Some of the programmes that TCF increasing number of TCF school buildings which are put to use in the evenings, weekends and school holidays:

• Female Adult Literacy Program: This is an accelerated three-month program using specially designed books and learning material. At the end of the program participants should be able to read and understand a newspaper, write a simple letter, plus acquire some basic maths skills. Over 9,000 women have now benefited from this programme. A seventy-something year old woman thanked TCF at her ‘graduation’: ‘we were blind – now we can see’;

• Vocational Training Program:Since there was always going to be a significant number of TCF children unable to further themselves academically after matriculation, a key object for TCF has been to develop a robust platform for these students to acquire relevant vocational skills. The following courses are tailored to skills in short supply and run for six months and one year: General electrician; General fitter and fabrication; Plumber and pipe-fitting; Refrigeration and air-conditioning; and Car and motor-cycle repairing. Separate courses are designed and run for women;

• Mentoring programme: The mentors are often officers in large companies. The programme is structured around an 8 week course with clear milestones developed to build the confidence of participating TCF students who will have had very little exposure to the world of their mentor. Results show that the students learn to trust their mentor, calling him or her for advice even after the end of the programme. This programme has now been running for four years during which over 250 mentors have helped more than 5,000 TCF students. This programme is on target to meet its target of 2012, having 2,500 mentors matched with all 8,000 Grade VIII students on their voyage of self-discovery by 2012;

• Water pumps have been installed in over 60 schools as a pilot project providing clean water to the local community in the mornings and evenings. Designed to help with hygiene and community building, the programme is still in its early stages;

Student and Learning Outcomes 2012:

We are proud to announce that 35% of TCF students continue to study beyond Class I2 (past intermediary, or ‘A Level’ education) as compared to the national average of just 5%. We continue to defy national averages in primary education also.

Urdu/Sindhi; Literacy has been gauged by evaluating students’ ability to ‘read a sentence in Urdu [or Sindhi]’. As per the Annual Status of Education Report 2011, about 41% of Class III can read a sentence in Urdu / Sindhi. As compared to this, nearly 80% of TCF students can do the same.

Numeracy; For numeracy, students' ability to perform simple subtraction (two-digit) has been assessed. The national average in this regard is 37.5% while 9 of every 10 TCF students are able to perform the same.

In essence, we build quality schools, we staff them with well-trained, committed teachers, and we make sure that our students receive a modern, well-rounded education. To us, education is about more than just academic training – it’s about learning to be confident, to think critically, and to be good citizens. And because TCF is transparent at every level and managed professionally, its template is easily replicable.

Thanks to your continued support, TCF is opening the doors of education, ambition and success to thousands of disadvantaged children from Pakistan's most deprived areas, where the need is most dire.

We hope that with news of TCF's expansion, you will renew your much needed support. It is only with the help of our supporters that TCF is able to grow successfully and transform the lives of deserving children and their families across Pakistan.

We are pleased to share with you just one of the many uplifting stories TCF students have to tell.

Murad –The Next Football Hero14 year old Murad Karim Baksh has dreamed of becoming a footballer since he was a little boy. Karim has made substantial steps towards realizing this dream. A few months ago, he made it into the Under 14 National Football Team and has since played in a tournament held in Islamabad. This was the first time that he had stepped outside Karachi.From the congested, polluted lanes of one of the many neighborhoods of Lyari Town in Karachi, Murad reached Pakistan’s much greener and cleaner capital city to spend 13 exciting days playing his favorite sport and making new friends.Murad is a grade VIII student at TCF Secondary School – Cowasjee Campus. He has been studying there since grade I. Last year he read about football trials in a local newspaper and decided to compete.In January last year, he participated in Youth Challenge held by the Pakistan Football Federation and his confidence continues to grow.

Please feel free to contact us if you would like to find out more about TCF-UK. We look forward to hearing from you.

Update 2012

Shazia Syed

The Citizens Foundation (TCF) is Pakistan’s leading education charity with a nationwide presence in 93 towns and cities across 51 districts in Pakistan, with 830 school units teaching over 115,000 underprivileged children regardless of ethnicity, gender, caste or religion. TCF schools are built in deprived areas, urban slums and poor rural villages where the need is most dire and where most children would otherwise not receive an education. The Citizens Foundation (UK) raises funds for the construction and on-going support of TCF schools, contributing approximately 12.5% of TCF’s total budget. Funds are raised from individuals, corporates, matched giving, Trusts and events.

TCF's achievements:

Our schools have a balanced gender ratio: close to 50% female students

TCF has created more than 8,800 jobs of which 5,800 are female faculty positions

TCF has gained certification from PCP (Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy). TCF is amongst the highest scoring organisations certified by PCP to date

We have raised public awareness about the dire illiteracy problem in Pakistan

Academically, TCF has gone from strength to strength. Monitoring and evaluation benchmarks and processes for evaluating student performance and teaching quality have recently been devised and put in place for grades III to VIII. These culminate in an Academic Audit Report which is shared by all stakeholders and forms the basis for on-going academic improvement. Each year increasing numbers of our grade X students have achieved A+, A and B Grades in the external State Board Matriculation examinations. In the most recent academic year, 49% of students attained A+ and A Grades - 10% more than last year and well above the national average with some of our students ranking in the top 10 in these exams. A commendable result considering that TCF’s students come from some of Pakistan’s poorest communities.

Some of the programmes that TCF increasing number of TCF school buildings which are put to use in the evenings, weekends and school holidays:

• Female Adult Literacy Program: This is an accelerated three-month program using specially designed books and learning material. At the end of the program participants should be able to read and understand a newspaper, write a simple letter, plus acquire some basic maths skills. To date over 4,000 women have benefited from this programme. A seventy-something year old woman thanked TCF at her ‘graduation’: ‘we were blind – now we can see’;

• Vocational Training Program (accredited by City & Guilds): Since there was always going to be a significant number of TCF children unable to further themselves academically after matriculation, a key object for TCF has been to develop a robust platform for these students to acquire relevant vocational skills. The following courses are tailored to skills in short supply and run for six months and one year: General electrician; General fitter and fabrication; Plumber and pipe-fitting; Refrigeration and air-conditioning; and Car and motor-cycle repairing. Separate courses are designed and run for women;

• Mentoring programme: The mentors are often officers in large companies. The programme is structured around an 8 week course with clear milestones developed to build the confidence of participating TCF students who will have had very little exposure to the world of the mentor. Early results show that the students learn to trust their mentor, calling him or her for advice even after the end of the programme. This programme has been running for two years during which 250 mentors have helped 1,200 TCF students. Although currently implemented only in urban centres, we plan that by 2012, 2,500 mentors will have taken all 8,000 Grade VIII students on this voyage of self-discovery;

• The TCF College Placement Programme: Funding has been provided by Standard Chartered Bank over the past six years for this means-tested college placement programme through which the brightest TCF students are provided with scholarships to universities. TCF currently supports over 4,000 scholarship students doing various degrees including engineering, medicine, business management and chartered accountancy. The TCF Placement Desk provides support and advice to students making the transition to further education and has also helped 800 TCF students make the transition from school to work;

• Water pumps have been installed in over 60 schools as a pilot project providing clean water to the local community in the mornings and evenings. Designed to help with hygiene and community building, the programme is still in its early stages;

• The TCF Summer camp takes place in TCF schools in Karachi and Lahore over a three week period during the summer holidays. Volunteer students from leading schools, colleges and universities - work with TCF students from grades VII, VIII & IX primarily to enhance their written and spoken English language skills but there are also science, art and craft sessions;

In essence, we build quality schools, we staff them with well-trained, committed teachers, and we make sure that our students receive a modern, well-rounded education. To us, education is about more than just academic training – it’s about learning to be confident, to think critically, and to be good citizens. And because TCF is transparent at every level and managed professionally, its template is easily replicable.

We have found that there is a near-insatiable appetite for education in Pakistan, not least for girls. Children are the same everywhere, excited to be in a classroom, enjoying the playground but hungry for knowledge and craving the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

Thanks to your continued support, TCF is opening the doors of education, ambition and success to thousands of disadvantaged children from Pakistan's most deprived areas, where the need is most dire.

We hope that with news of TCF's expansion, you will renew your much needed support. It is only with the help of our supporters that TCF is able to grow successfully and transform the lives of deserving children and their families across Pakistan.

Feel free to contact us if you would like to find out more about TCF-UK. We look forward to hearing from you.

New TCF milestone achieved with your support!

Abeeha Khalid

We are pleased to inform you that 67 new operational school units came on-stream on 1 April 2010 and a similar number are planned for the next academic year starting in April 2011! TCF now has a nation-wide presence in 68 centres across Pakistan with a phenomenal 660 school units teaching 92,000 of the poorest children – 46% girls - regardless of ethnicity, gender, caste or religion. The 660 school units are made up of 504 primary schools including 100 afternoon shifts, and 156 secondary schools including 19 afternoon shifts. With each new school requiring running costs of about £9,000, this means that TCF will need an additional £600,000 of income in each of 2010 and 2011 to support this.

More news on TCF's achievements:

TCF has won one of three gold medals in an art competition run by The Indus Valley School of Art in which it was competing against the elite schools in Karachi. This year, ten year old Shahid-ul-Allah, a student of TCF School – Mohammadi Goth won the 2nd prize in Unilever’s “Art from the Heart” competition.

Academically, TCF has gone from strength to strength. Monitoring and evaluation benchmarks and processes for evaluating student performance and teaching quality have recently been devised and put in place for grades III to VIII. These culminate in an Academic Audit Report which is shared by all stakeholders and forms the basis for on-going academic improvement. Each year increasing numbers of our grade X students have achieved A+, A and B Grades in the external State Board Matriculation examinations. In the most recent academic year, 49% of students attained A+ and A Grades - 10% more than last year and well above the national average with some of our students ranking in the top 10 in these exams. A commendable result considering that TCF’s students come from some of Pakistan’s poorest communities.

Some of the programmes that TCF has piloted are coming to fruition. For the first two below, TCF partners with other NGOs (who bear all costs) and the programmes are being rolled-out to an increasing number of TCF school buildings which are put to use in the evenings, weekends and school holidays:

• Female Adult Literacy Program: This is an accelerated three-month program using specially designed books and learning material. At the end of the program participants should be able to read and understand a newspaper, write a simple letter, plus acquire some basic maths skills. To date around 1,500 women have benefited from this programme. A seventy-something year old woman thanked TCF at her ‘graduation’: ‘we were blind – now we can see’;

• Vocational Training Program (accredited by City & Guilds): Since there was always going to be a significant number of TCF children unable to further themselves academically after matriculation, a key object for TCF has been to develop a robust platform for these students to acquire relevant vocational skills. The following courses are tailored to skills in short supply and run for six months and one year: General electrician; General fitter and fabrication; Plumber and pipe-fitting; Refrigeration and air-conditioning; and Car and motor-cycle repairing. Separate courses are designed and run for women. We plan to gradually expand the number and range of courses as well as the number of TCF schools where they will be run. Currently, very few of the participants are TCF children. Most of the participants are the older children in these urban slums and villages but, in time, this will benefit increasing numbers of TCF students who do not go on to college after they matriculate;

• Mentoring programme: The mentors are often officers in large companies. The programme is structured around an 8 week course with clear milestones developed to build the confidence of participating TCF students who will have had very little exposure to the world of the mentor. Early results show that the students learn to trust their mentor, calling him or her for advice even after the end of the programme. This programme has been running for two years during which 250 mentors have helped 1,200 TCF students. Although currently implemented only in urban centres, we plan that by 2012, 2,500 mentors will have taken all 8,000 Grade VIII students on this voyage of self-discovery;

• The TCF College Placement Programme: Funding has been provided by Standard Chartered Bank over the past four years for this means-tested college placement programme through which the brightest TCF students are provided with scholarships to universities. TCF currently supports 1,300 scholarship students doing various degrees including engineering, medicine, business management and chartered accountancy. The TCF Placement Desk provides support and advice to students making the transition to further education and has also helped 800 TCF students make the transition from school to work;

• Water pumps have been installed at 10 schools as a pilot project providing clean water to the local community in the mornings and evenings. Designed to help with hygiene and community building, the programme is still in its early stages;

• The TCF Summer camp takes place in TCF schools in Karachi and Lahore over a three week period during the summer holidays. Volunteers – students from leading schools, colleges and universities - work with TCF students from grades VII, VIII & IX primarily to enhance their written and spoken English language skills but there are also science, art and craft sessions;

• FTCF has recently piloted a school “twinning” initiative between 30 students in years 9 & 10 at a girls’ school in Luton and girls at a TCF school in Lahore. The students explore similarities and differences between their schools: what they study, how they spend their weekends and evenings; as well as their favourite subjects, sports, books, hobbies, food, interests, hopes, ambitions and aspirations. Reflecting on the initiative, Assistant Head teacher, Mr Palmer explains that his teachers and pupils were delighted and excited about being paired with a TCF school in Pakistan. As teachers, they believe that by bringing our two schools together our pupils will better understand their place in the world and be better equipped to live in it. FTCF plans to twin other TCF schools with UK schools in the years to come.

In essence, we build schools, we staff them with well-trained, committed teachers, and we make sure that our students receive a modern, well-rounded education. To us, education is about more than just academic training – it’s about learning to be confident, to think critically, and to be good citizens. And because TCF is transparent at every level and managed professionally, its template is able to be rolled-out efficaciously.

We have found that there is a near-insatiable appetite for education in Pakistan, not least for girls. Children are the same everywhere, excited to be in a classroom, enjoying the playground but hungry for knowledge and craving the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

Thanks to your continued support, TCF is opening the doors of education, ambition and success to thousands of disadvantaged children from Pakistan's most deprived areas, where the need is most dire and where most children would otherwise not receive an education.

We hope that with news of TCF's expansion, you will renew your much needed support. It is only with the help of our supporters that TCF is able to grow successully and transform the lives of deserving children and their families across Pakistan.

To find out more about Friends of The Citizens Foundation, please email us at info@FTCF.org.uk or call 0845 230 1947.

Project Challenge Success for FTCF!

Abeeha Khalid

Dear Friends,

Thank you for donating to support the education of 150 students at a TCF Primary School in Pakistan. With your help, Friends of The Citizens Foundation has become a permanent member of the Global Giving community and has also won two bonus rewards worth £500 each, bringing the total prize money to £1,000.

All of you have demonstrated your dedication and commitment to educating the disadvantaged youth of Pakistan and tackling illiteracy head-on. Well done to you all - it is only with support on this scale that FTCF is able to grow so successfully.

As of April 2009, TCF has 600 purpose-built school units across 63 locations in Pakistan with 80,000 students – 50% girls. Our schools are located in urban slums and rural villages, and the children we teach come from some of the most disadvantaged segments of Pakistani society, children who would otherwise not receive an education. The means-tested fees we charge cover only 16% of our costs, the balance 84% being met from donations such as yours.

Please don’t let this be the last time that you donate to this project – our target is to support one TCF school for a year which at present costs £8,800. To date, we have raised £3,286 on Global Giving and with your help, we are certain that we can meet our goal.

To become a long-term supporter and join FTCF in the battle against illiteracy, why not educate two children at a TCF school with a regular donation of £12/month? Your regular contribution will help children in Pakistan to realise their ambitions and dreams through a quality education.

To find out more about Friends of The Citizens Foundation, please email us at info@FTCF.org.uk or call 0845 230 1947.

Thank you for supporting FTCF and helping to make the children of Pakistan agents of positive change.